Graduation Speech: Prime Time

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Recommended: the impact of reality tv

The age of reality TV has arrived. There's a different show on every night of the week. And I hate to admit it, but once you get started on a series, it becomes pretty addictive. They should have a disclaimer when they roll the credits or something. Now don't deny it, I know you've all fallen into the trap, too. You promise yourself you're only going to watch for ten minutes to see what all the craze is about, and 45 minutes later you're still watching, but wondering why you just wasted your time. That happened to me when "Married By America" came out. I honestly think that was one of the worst reality shows yet! I didn't watch it religiously, but there were a few episodes that I got suckered into. So which show is your favorite? Let's take a look at our TV Guide. ...

It's Monday night. You just got home from practice and finished dinner. It's 8:00, so... naturally you turn on the TV to channel 5, because it's time for "Fear Factor." We all could have been on an episode of "Fear Factor." Four years ago we entered these halls as fearful freshmen. What were we afraid of? The typical rumors: getting stuffed in a trash can or taped to the flagpole, or maybe getting lost in this huge campus, which we could now find our way around blindfolded. From watching "Fear Factor," we've learned that eating maggots and sheep eyeballs on a pizza won't kill you. Apparently, living off of cafeteria food for four years won't kill you either. We've been fearful of finals and failing our CE's, but we made it. All of us here tonight have conquered those fears. Hey, we may not walk away with $50,000, but hopefully a diploma will get us where we want to go.

So it's Tuesday night and you just finished your homework. You need to relax, so you flip the TV on to channel 13 just in time to catch "American Idol." You listen to the music and wait for your favorite budding rock star to perform. When the show is over, you cast your vote along with 24 million other Americans who want their own voice to be heard. Now there's a lesson here for all of us, Grads. It would seem that the American population gets more excited about voting after watching an hour of "American Idol" than they do about voting for President.

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